Fisker’s Unbridled Ambitions Extending to an SUV, Boats

Why is this on the Fisker website on the "tomorrow" page? Photo: FiskerAutomotive.com

Henrik Fisker’s ambitions officially are approaching delusional. The founder and former CEO of Fisker Automotive says, apparently with a straight face, that he’s considering a plug-in hybrid SUV and — get this — maybe even boats.

Fisker, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, continues making the (valid) case that plug-in hybrid technology is the perfect way to introduce electricity to a population wary of electric vehicles. With a gasoline engine acting as a generator for the electric battery pack on its $100,000 Karma, the luxury sedan is a compromise-free package for the 1 percent.

After selling around 1,500 Karma luxury sedans and securing another round of $100 million in funding, Fisker is looking into his crystal ball and seeing an ever-expanding range of vehicles. He also sees his upstart company considering technology partnerships with other automakers and perhaps even the maritime sector.

The Atlantic — a three-quarter scale version of the Karma with an MSRP around $50,000 when it goes on sale around the middle of the decade — is next on Fisker’s to-do list. But the company’s said next to nothing about two other models Fisker’s taunted us with — the gorgeous Sunset convertible and the sultry Surf wagon. Last we heard, the convertible was delayed indefinitely and the wagon might be available only in Europe, if at all.

So it comes as a surprise to hear Fisker is considering “a four-wheel drive,” which leads us to suspect he’s thinking about an SUV, given that wild Model X crossover his arch-nemesis Tesla Motors is planning. More surprising is his talk about plug-in hybrid boats.

“I could imagine that boats sailing in harbors will only use electric engines,” Fisker told the Journal. “And then once they are out in the water they will use diesel.”

That’s certainly a possibility, but whether it’s Fisker technology powering a fleet of yachts seems like a stretch. But at least there will be plenty of water around, just in case.